With advances in processing capabilities and programming technologies, software defined mobile wireless communications devices (e.g., radios) continue to increase in popularity. Rather than relying upon hardware and circuitry components to perform frequency, modulation, bandwidth, security, and/or waveform functions, these functions are instead performed by software modules or components in a software radio. That is, with a software radio analog signals are converted into the digital domain where the above-noted functions are performed using digital signal processing based upon software modules.
Because most of the functions of the radio are controlled by software, software radios may typically be implemented with relatively standard processor and hardware components. This may not only reduce device hardware costs, but it also provides greater flexibility in upgrading the device since new communications waveform modules can be uploaded to the device relatively easily and without the need to interchange new hardware components.
One particular class of software radios which takes advantage of the above-described advantages is the Joint Tactical Radio (JTR). The JTR includes relatively standard radio and processing hardware along with the appropriate waveform software modules for the communication waveforms the radio will utilize. JTRs also utilize operating system software that conforms with the Software Communications Architecture (SCA). The SCA is an open architecture framework that specifies how hardware and software components are to interoperate so that different manufacturers and developers can readily integrate their respective components into a single device.
Still another class of mobile wireless communications devices that increasingly use software components for communicating via different waveforms or standards is cellular communication devices. That is, many cellular devices are now designed to operate with more than one of the numerous cellular standards that are used throughout the world, such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Personal Communications Services (PCS), for example.
Despite the numerous advantages of software radios, one challenge presented by such devices is that of managing the flow of data through the radio where numerous processing modules are required to perform respective processing operations on the data. Various approaches have been developed for allowing processors or processing modules to interrelate and share data. One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,612 to Alaiwan. In this system, a plurality of processors are interconnected by a shared intelligent memory. Inter-task message passing is performed through the shared intelligent memory for storing messages transmitted by sending tasks. The system also allows elements to be purged from a queue in the shared memory using an index.
Despite the advantages of such systems, still further data management functionality may be desirable in mobile wireless communications devices. This may be particularly true where such devices communicate secure or classified data that may need to be purged from time-to-time to maintain data security.